Seasons Of Change
by Riiskaa
Summary: Through unfair trials, change of scenery, and drama, one Leafeon will either find his way home, or die trying to fit into a place where he really doesn't belong. Or does he? Chapter 5 is up!
1. Tutor Troubles

**Leafeon's Compass – Chapter One**

"…and don't forget to- Kaivo, are you listening to me?!" An angry Leafeon asked sharply for just about the hundredth time that morning.

Kaivo turned his head and looked blankly at the female Leafeon glowering at him. "What?"

Growling in frustration, she swiped her paw at a handily crafted bowl made entirely of rock, knocking it over and spilling the yellow contents onto the cave floor. Angrily she began raking her claws on the cave wall and smudging the yellow markings she had made previously, trying to teach him. She turned to Kaivo, who was still sitting there, just staring at her.

"I hope you at least learned something, because I refuse to take time out of my day to come and teach you the same thing everyday when you don't even pay attention!" The Leafeon took in a deep breath and swiftly lifted herself up off of her haunches, strutting out of the cave and muttering rude comments about the young male Leafeon who still had not moved a muscle.

He rolled his eyes. None of the stupid tutors his parents hired could ever capture his interest; all their lessons were the same. First it had been Premier, then Deuxième, and now Tierce…. There was only one word that described all of them, and that was 'boring'.

Agitated, he turned his head back to the hole dug by one of his Leafeon ancestors to allow sunlight, oh the bright sunlight, to waft into the room and dazzle his shining creamy sand colored coat. Impulsively, he walked over to the hole and stuck his head out through it, gazing at the dancing trees and whispering winds of the outside world, how he longed to be free…

"_Enough of that,_" he consulted himself, pulling his head back into the dim cave. _"Prince's do not _gaze _at the foliage, or stick their heads out windows!" _He puffed out his chest, trying to give himself fake confidence, and strutted out the path that Tierce had left on his chocolaty brown paws. His parents weren't going to be happy with him…

---

And indeed, they weren't.

His father's frown pierced him harder than a thousand Beedrills' poisonous stinger. And Ejiki, a member of their Leafeon pack, had been stung by just one, and he was in the infirmary for just about a whole moon. He had described what enormous pain that sting had given him.

Kaivo desperately tried not to look into his father's eyes, instead focusing on his small brown nose, or the bright green leaf-like lock of hair on top of his head.

"Son," It seemed like forever before he finally spoke. "What have I told you about paying attention to your tutors?"

"Yes father, but-"

"No 'buts' about it." He said sternly, his forever present frown still plastered onto his rough, masculine features.

"But father! All they do is _talk!_" Kaivo shouted without regards to the punishment. "It's not fair that Aki gets all the Alpha training; what happens if he gets killed, then who's going to take over if you won't teach me anything?!"

Before he could get a reply though, his mother, who had been lying at the back of the cave the whole time, stood up and spoke up in his defense. "Rei, he is your son. Aki has already had plenty of training…" she paused, hoping he would get her hint. When he didn't, she continued, "Maybe you should give Kaivo a few lessons? Maybe, if he pays attention, then he'll learn something…"

Rei sighed as his mate finished. Frustrated, he rubbed his paws along his temples and closed his eyes. Once he opened them again, he had come up with an answer. "No."

Reina frowned. "But Rei, he's your _son_."

"I _know_ that, Reina, but Aki has to be Alpha in my place someday, and I can't let training _him_," he said heartlessly, shoving his paw in Kaivo's direction, "take away Aki's Alpha lessons! Maybe, oh, I don't know, if he would pay attention, he would learn about how to be an Alpha from one of his tutors and be able to put that to good use instead of just lazing around like a foolhardy, lazy, Prince!" He concluded irritably. Reina only stared at him with a fierce, intent look.

The Alpha of the Leafeon stood up, and padded out of the Alpha's cave, Aki following right behind him, a smug look smeared all over his face.

After they had retreated out into the daylight, the Alpha female gave her son an apologetic smile and a ruffle to the top of his head before following suit and exiting the cave. Kaivo watched all his family leave the cave, until he was left alone in the faintly lit cave to look alone upon the cave that would never belong to him.

---

Sunrise. It was a beautiful time, the sun just peeking over the horizon, glowing pinks and oranges scattered across the canvas of the sky. The black silhouettes of the trees were just starting to come alive with color; the sun's vivid rays splashing light upon the green of the still leaves and the rough brown bark.

Kaivo sighed as he watched his favorite time of day come into play, his leaf-like tail swinging in back and forth motions absently. He was usually cheery at this time of day; watching the sun rise up into the sky and feeling the warmth wash over his glistening fur. But today, and every previous day since his father had pretty much rejected him, which had been a week ago now, was gloomy for him. Aki was busy all the time too. He and his older brother used to have such a strong bond…and now…

As he shook his head to rid himself of his thoughts, he glimpsed down at the Leafeon of the pack; they too were watching the sunrise. Most of them were perched in trees, their heads towards the event that marked the start of their day. Some pregnant mothers were just exiting the caves below his on the cliff, and his mother was lying out of the edge of the Alpha's cave, which was right above his. But his father and Aki were up a long time ago, probably out somewhere hunting for local Cherubi, since Leafeon were herbivores. Usually, they didn't need to eat, because their cells were a mix of plant and animal, giving them the ability of photosynthesis. But on the cloudy, rainy days, they would just eat leaves, or occasionally a Cherubi. The Eevees, although it was not yet birthing moon, would eat Cherubi until they evolved. Kaivo's mind wandered again and he thought back to his Eevee days, when his life was simple.

The sun rose higher into the sky and it seemed like all the members of his pack rose simultaneously, climbing down their nesting trees in patterns they didn't even realize they created, giving the forest some look of organization.

He sighed and laid his head back onto his paws. He knew if his father caught him lying around his cave, he's be in sure trouble again, so he raised himself back onto his sprout sporting paws, and began climbing down the side of the cliff, where the Leafeon he passed nodded out of their caves, and the ones on the ground stopped to nod their heads at him too. The path leading down the cliff circles around Alpha rock, where his father made announcements and such. Kaivo paused, looking longingly at the rock, and walked on.

---

A large, strapping young Leafeon sunk into the bushes around the watering hole, where another younger looking Leafeon was lapping up the water quietly and solemnly. He shifted his weight under his paws, watching the young male with great hatred, getting ready to pounce. His auburn eyes scanned the surroundings, watching for any sign of another life. When there was none, he locked his eyes onto his target.

As he took a step forward, there was a crack. Aki looked down only to see a broken branch snapped under his forepaw. Swearing under his breath, he ducked down quickly and watched the Leafeon at the watering hole, whose ears had twitched and who was now looking around cautiously. The young male turned and headed back in the direction of the pack grounds. Once he was sure his brother was out of earshot, Aki growled loudly and batted the branch he had stepped on out into the water, leaving ripples in the pond as he sulked away after his younger brother.

---

On his way back from the watering hole, Kaivo pricked up his ears as he heard another crack, similar to the one that had come from around the watering hole. He listened all around, his leaf-like ears twisting and turning, trying to find the direction the sound. Once he was sure of himself, he turned to some bushes to his left, staring keenly at the spot he thought housed the sound.

He was right. There was a rustling in the bushes a little ways from him, and a long, leaf-like thing slithered through a bush and disappeared from sight. Curious as to what the sound was, he tentatively stepped into the bushes and lowered his sensitive nose to the forest grass, smelling the scents around him. There was one of a Delcatty, not surprisingly, since they moved about often and never kept a permanent nest. But there was another scent too, and it was that of a Leafeon. This confused Kaivo.

The only ones who left the pack grounds this early in the morning were the Alpha's and their family, and nursing mothers. Strange, because it wasn't birthing moon yet, and this scent wasn't of his father or mother. He continued to search the smells; a faint Grovyle, a Stantler, the faint aroma of the Stun Spore of a Dustox…

But the Leafeon's scent was strongest. It was so close, he could taste it…

Curiously, he took another step.

And another.

He was almost enveloped in the odor of the Leafeon, and the funny thing was that it smelled familiar. Suddenly, his nose touched something. He looked up from the grassy forest floor and recoiled back once he saw what he had bumped into.

---

"Daaaaaad!!"

The young Leafeon bounded through the undergrowth, and as the bushes raced past him, leapt through the air, soaring over the last shrubs before the clearing in which his pack made their homes. Many whispers erupted from the crowd, turning their heads as he raced through the parting Grass Pokemon up towards the Alpha's cave.

He collapsed from exhaustion once in the depths of the cave. "…Dad…da…Dad…," he panted, the sunlight from the many windows in the cliffside cavern dappling his moist coat.

Reina looked at her son worriedly. "Son?"

Kaivo looked up. "Mom…Mom…where's…where…DAD!! Where's Dad?!"

She gave him a questioning look. "Son, you know your father's out with Aki this time of day…" she said, becoming even more concerned.

"Right…right…I knew that," he gasped, taking a deep breath and standing up. "But I saw something!"

"Well, whatever could have made you run like that?" Reina had a feeling she wasn't going to like what her son was about to tell her.

---

Wow, that was kind of short, but hey, I couldn't find a way to make it any longer. This and chapter 2, which will be coming to you soon, were supposed to be merged, but I felt like leaving you with a cliffie. Not much to say…it's late…So, hope you enjoyed! P.S. sorry if you got an e-mail about this 2 times; the page breaks I used didn't show up so I went back to my old " --- " thingy. Sorry!


	2. Outsider

Whew. 3PPOV is wearing me out man! I can't get in to Kaivo's head as well as I want to. Alright, I know it's a little short, as was the first one, but I figured maybe it'd be easier to make the chapters shorter and have more of them. Of course, not too short, but not so long it takes me forEVVVEERRR to type just one. You know, each story is different. Anyways, I hope you're enjoying so far! I'm loving Leafeon more each day. Glad I decided to write about them!

---

**Leafeon's Compass – Chapter Two**

A large male paced the mouth of his cave against the setting sun. He shook his head worriedly and grunted strange, angry noises. A smaller Leafeon sat patiently outside the entrance of the grotto, his tail curled around his sitting form, his ears low on his head. He sat quietly, awaiting anything from his parents.

"Rei…" the Alpha female began, but trailed off.

Aki sat patiently in the cave, leaning against the wall calmly. "Father, it's not such a big deal. Let me go take care of it."

"No." Rei stopped pacing and turned to his wife and son. "This is bigger than it looks."

"Dad, it's just an outsider; don't get so upset." Aki reasoned.

"No, it's not _just an outsider _Aki! Don't be so naïve!" Rei growled, and began pacing again. Aki didn't give in though.

"Father." The prince stood up and circled around his father, his head low, a ferocious glint in his eye. He stopped, blocking the mouth of the cave. "I'm the future Alpha; listen to me. Let me-"

Aki winced in pain, knocked back onto the rocky floor by the power of his fathers strike. He was wise enough to stay down, not daring to get up or move to ease the pain of the slash across his face with his paw. "Fool! I'm present Alpha, you listen to me! For the last time, no, you will not be going to 'take care of this'!" Rei raged shouting and spitting at Aki's motionless form.

He poked his head around the corner; just enough so he could see what was going on. Kaivo didn't dare get involved; he knew what his father was like when he was angry. He pulled back a smidgen when his father started to pace again, but kept one of his brown eyes on the scene in his parent's den. Spitting and growling in frustration and stress, his father began to pace again, become more venomous as each moment passed. Aki was still on the ground; Kaivo had heard the crack of something when his older brother was sent flying into the cave wall. He admired at his brothers determination, but it was more foolish than courageous to defy Rei when he was normal, let alone when he was in this state.

"Outsiders," he seethed, wrinkling his muzzle. "Filthy, no-good Outsiders!"

Even Reina was helpless to sooth him now. "Honey, if Aki won't deal with them…" but she was cut off by the livid bark of her mate, telling her he'd deal with them right in the morning, at dawn.

Outsiders. That's was Kaivo had seen; an Outsider. The only thing Kaivo had to distinguish the exiled one from a regular rogue was the dark, black circles lining its eyes, making it truly appear as a killer. It was a Leafeon, and one previously from their pack. They were banished by the Alphas for defiance, unspeakable acts, and such. About a year ago, Kaivo remembered, a trio of them was exiled for supposedly killing the previous Alpha, and Kaivo's own grandfather, while he was still in power. He had been a strong, young leader, that's why it had presumed that the three of them together committed the act, for it would have been seemingly impossible for one Leafeon alone to take down a Pokemon of such strength. Of course, Nonno had been killed, so there was no one to confirm the trio guilty or innocent except for the supposed "evidence", the fact that one of Rei's good friends had vouched that he saw the three leave their trees that night.

Kaivo, not sticking around to hear any more of the conversation, slinked past the open cave mouth and down the cliffside, back through the hanging vines draped over the opening to his own cave beneath the Alpha's, where he could still hear his fathers angry ranting and feel the dust and pebbles knocked from the roof of his cavern.

It was an uneventful night of sleep for Kaivo, seeing as how his it took his father the first part of the night to calm down, with some help from Reina.

He couldn't quite get into sleep; it seemed it was avoiding him. Finally though, he fought off his restlessness and was able to doze off into an uncomfortable semiconscious sleep.

---

When he opened his eyes again, everything was black. "_Where am I?" _a voice echoed in his ears, though his mouth did not move. Tears began falling down from his eyes, though he was not crying, falling into the endless void before him, not making a sound, ever falling. He found his body was not underneath him quite fully; he could not feel, smell, nor touch anything.

Finally, after eternity had gone by, he could move. He took a tentative first step, fearful of falling. But the blackness was not there to hurt him, but to help him. He found every direction to be obtainable, he could, strangely, go any which way he desired. A shadow streaked by him, a flash, like a shadow fleeting past the open mouth of a cave. He struggled to run fast enough to reach the shadow, even at least its tail. Cackle. There was a loud, ominous cackle heard throughout his dark nightmare. _"Kaivo…"_ it mewed teasingly. _"Kaivo…"_

Kaivo turned all around, catching sight of the taunting shadow, following it still. As he came further, or so it seemed, to the flickering outline, a scream pierced through the night-like black, echoing through all sides, blasting against his head, sound waves bursting his eardrums painfully, more tears falling out of his uncrying eyes. _"Where are you…?"_

---

Gasping for air and drenched in sweat, the Leafeon quickly opened his eyes, the scrutiny of the ceiling of his cave coming in ever slowly. Blinking his auburn eyes, he realized he was flipped over onto his back, and his back was yelling at him for sleeping like that. Painfully he rolled over onto his side; from there lifting himself onto his paws. Shaking off the salty body fluid and giving his coat a quick wash, he stepped out of the cave, only to be embarrassed at how late he had slept. The sun was already way up! He felt the blood in his cheeks boil when he realized that he has missed the morning routine for the first time since his father forced him to get up and see it. Shrugging it off, he realized that it was his fathers own fault to blame, getting so worked up about the Outsider last night, and that strange dream…Kaivo shuddered and continued to head down to the watering hole for his morning trip.

"_That's odd." _Kaivo noted as he looked over the pack. _"Today's Dad's day off, he should be lounging around down there somewhere with his friends…" _He thought to himself.

Turning his gaze up to the dark hole that was his parents cave, he leapt up the rocky path of the cliffside to the space before the Alpha's cave, where the ledge widened out to about ten feet, big enough to relax and laze around on, and high enough to watch the packs activities during the day. The Leafeon prince stepped up to the entrance, a strange scent filling his nose.

"_Blood…okay, no problem, Dad's already been out hunting with his buddies…it must be later than I thought…" _ Calming himself with reassuring thoughts, he took a hesitant first step into the cavern…and another…and another. He looked about, darkness enveloping him, his dream flashing back through his head. "Hello? _That's strange, where's all the light from the windows?" _ He suddenly felt alone. Secluded. Isolated. His body began to wrack with shivers and shudders as his dream came back to him more vivid than the dream itself. A cold sweat dripped down from the back of his neck.

And then, he stepped on something. It was soft, and wrinkly under his toes. The moment he looked down he felt the urge to scream, to back away, to wake up.

He lifted his paw quickly from his fathers limp ear, covered in a blood that was now covering the pads of his paws. He looked up from the ear, and to the body that was attached to it.

His father and mother, side by side, covered in large, seeping, bleeding gashes. He circled around them, being careful not to step in anymore blood. Their eyes were open, a thick, white film encasing their previously lively, auburn eyes, blood dribbling from the corners of their mouths. He licked his mother's delicate face, to which she couldn't respond. He dropped his head low, closing his eyes tightly, trying to prevent the tears now falling out of his eyes, this time, hitting the solid ground, mixing in with the crimson liquid slowly creeping its way across the cave floor.

Painfully he turned from the gruesome sight, his eyes still closed, the picture burned vividly into his mind. As he felt himself nearing the light, he bumped into something solid.

It was Aki, looking at him with the most disgust filled look Kaivo had ever seen. He looked up at him, scared. Aki growled and before he could do anything about it, grabbed Kaivo's wrist and turned it up, revealing to be the paw with his parents blood on it. The next words that came out of his brother's muzzle stung him harder than a million Beedrill.

"What have you done…?"

---

Within the next hour, a pack meeting was called by Aki. He told the pack to wait below the speaking rock when the sun hit the tops of the trees, which was now.

Aki cleared his throat and the chattering, nervous pack silenced. "Attention all pack members…" he started formally.

"I am sad to inform you that my parents, the Alphas, have been…" he paused to search for the right word, "_murdered._"

Gasps and worried looks erupted and swarmed over the faces of the Leafeon pack, many shouting out questions and worried remarks. Aki waited till they were silent. "I, in fact, know who killed them." Again; many gasps and more worried questions.

"Please calm down! I have the culprit right here," the crowd calmed down a bit as he pointed to Kaivo, who was sitting down by the rock, being held by a large male Leafeon. The pack's heads turned all towards Kaivo; many with looks of surprise, others with hatred. "I caught him in their cave this morning, literally red handed; red handed with the blood of your Alphas and his own parents!" The guard holding Kaivo turned his paw up and lurched it forward, showing it around for everyone to see. "Let's see if he has anything to say."

Aki nodded at the bailiff-like Leafeon, who shook his arm and grunted roughly "Got anythin' ta say, punk?"

"It wasn't me!" He looked to the crowd, and then to his brother, desperately. "You've got to believe me! I walked up there because I didn't see Dad out in the pack like he usually is, and I found them like that!" Kaivo struggled, pulling on his captive arm.

Aki glared down at his younger brother. "Foolish brother! I saw you get up during the night! I know it was you that passed out in front of my cave like a shadow. I also heard muffled screaming in the night! Did you not?" Turning to the pack, he watched as slowly, the heads of the Leafeon began to turn towards each other and begin nodding among some whispers.

"But I saw that shadow too! It passed in front of my cave too!" Kaivo screamed urgently.

"_How could that be, Aki? Isn't your cave before mine? How could I pass __your_ _cave going in the opposite direction?"_

"Then why did you not get up to follow it?!"

"But-"

The Leafeon atop the high rock slammed his brown paw upon the rocks surface, the crowd falling silent. "He is a killer! Killers always return to the scene of the crime, that's why he was up there!"

"_Brother, why did __you_ _not follow it? Aki, __you_ _were up there too…who knows how many of the pack members could've been up there? Who knows what that shadow was? Aki, why won't you trust me?"_

"Yeah!"

"Banish him for good!"

"The no-good, he belongs with the Outsiders!"

It was like his brain was swimming, his thoughts sloshed about in his mind. "_A killer? An Outsider?" _A shudder ran over his spine.

"Then it's unanimous!" He shouted, almost with glee. "Exiled!"

"_My brother! Why is my mouth tied so? Can't you trust me; can't you trust your own brother? Have I ever given you a reason to believe I could do such a thing to you, or to myself? How can you so heartlessly shove me from your life, from our life, without even a fair hearing?" _

The pack turned their back on Kaivo, as only Aki kept his eyes on him, to watch him and make sure he would leave. With one last pleading look towards his brother, he knew he would not change his mind. For whatever reason, he was stuck. He couldn't believe it. His own brother, betraying him. For once he was glad that the pack would not look at him; their backs were much less hurtful than their eyes. And then, it struck him. He was an Outsider now. He was hated, alone, lost, not to mention scared. Convicted of a crime he didn't commit, how could he ever find a peaceful life with brutes like the Outsiders? They'd never accept him. They'd call him weak, or he wouldn't fit in because unlike them, he hadn't actually committed a wrong.

He couldn't even bring himself to look back on the back ends of his fellow Leafeon once he was on the edges of his…former packs grounds. He couldn't bear to look back onto the land that would now never accept him as a citizen, let alone an Alpha. He wished he could still look upon the Alpha's cave to wish it was his, rather than his life.

---


	3. Rings

Well, here's chapter three! Whooton! Thanks for reviews, my readers, they make me happy. Oh, by the way, the other title didn't seem to work, so I changed it to 'Seasons Of Change'.

**Seasons Of Change – Chapter Three**

After a day or two's walk, Kaivo had passed the river that he used to drink from every morning, passed the outer limits of the packs hunting grounds, and crossed the border line into Outsider land, where the forest suddenly turned thin, the trees withered and small, and the soil dry under his paws. He had gone without water since the day before he was exiled, and had not felt it right to drink out of the river when he passed it. Food wasn't a problem though, photosynthesis served him well. Heck, he felt full nearly all the time. He shuddered whenever he thought about his father's thoughts on Outsiders and how he wished his brother had believed him. It forced incredible guilt onto his little, cream colored shoulders, being something that his father hated, and a source of such great pain his brother must be feeling. If only he had listened, they could mourn their parents deaths together…

He was worried of what would become of himself lately. He had, after all, been terrified of what he now was… No. He had made up his mind; he was going to be an Outsider, and he was going to be a good one. Of course, he was still terrified as hell, but maybe if he could convince the other Outsiders that he wasn't a weakling, then they would accept him and maybe he'd have half the life he had. He was just worried about what types of Pokemon they would be, since he knew he could truly never get along with them. After all, he wasn't a criminal, but they were.

It was hard to keep his head up though, because he was dreadfully dehydrated and just about ready to collapse any second. He glanced up at the sun, almost directly over head, hot, and bright. He never thought being free of being a prince as he had dreamed of for so long would be this hard.

Soon though, he walked into a familiar odor, that of a Leafeon. He remembered this smell; it was the one of the Outsider he had seen a few days ago! Its essence so strong out here in the wild undergrowth of the father parts of the forest, not like the scents of the Leafeon back in the pack, where the smells of each individual aroma were meshed together. You could find one distinct one just about as well as you could find a needle in a haystack.

This time, more knowing than curious, he followed the scent on purpose, trying to find this Leafeon. He knew the one with dark rings around his eyes could help the new Outsider.

As soon as he felt himself getting close, something began to hiss ferociously at him, warning him. _Don't come any closer, and I won't kill you_, he could imagine the hiss saying. Still though, he crept through the thin shrubbery. He stopped. The bushes to the left, there was a rustle. No, no, it was definitely from the right…Oh great. Now it was coming from behind him. Or was that just his vision faltering? Oh, there it was, coming right for him, twelve o' clock…

His visualization was too blurry for the Leafeon head that popped out of the bushes to be truly scary, but it was still startling none-the-less. It growled at him as his world began to sway, and he struggled to stay upright. The Leafeon, now with one of its eyebrows raised, watched as Kaivo struggled to stay up on his legs, but failed. He fell onto his stomach with a plop, dust clouds rising from the disturbance in the long dry loam.

"Um, are you alright?" It asked. Its voice was clearly feminine. It didn't seem to see him as any threat, Kaivo was glad.

"No, not really. Are you an Outsider, by any chance?"

She seemed to start to reply, but then gasped. "Hey, I remember you; you're the one who bumped into me the other day!"

"Yes, yes…" he started to remember. "Terribly sorry, but-"

"You're cute when you're scared." She winked. He just stared.

"Alright…Anyways, Outsider, right?"

"Yeah, I already told you that didn't I?"

"Yes, yes you did…well that's good, because-"

Giggle. "You're funny too."

"Yes, that's all fine and dandy; um, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Knock yourself out."

Big sigh. "Alright, I've been looking for you, and-"

"That's not a question."

"No, no it's not, the question part's coming."

"…oh. Continue."

"Thanks. Um…where was I?"

"You were looking-"

"Yes! Been looking for you. Exiled out of pack; long story. Is there by any chance I could tag along with you for awhile? Know of anywhere that has water?"

"How do I know I can trust you? How do I know you're not just a…spy?"

"Go ask my pack. I bet my life on it, they'll tell you I'm not a spy. Heck, if I'm seen on their land they'll probably kill me."

"Oh." She looked up, contemplating. She turned back to him with a smile. "Sure, you can come. Actually, I was just on my way back home right now; oh, and don't worry, there's a stream right before we get there."

It seemed as though Kaivo had found an angel, albeit a talkative one. They walked for who knows how long. All Kaivo knew was that it seemed like a year; since he was just about ready to die of thirst and the female who was leading him wouldn't shut her mouth.

---

The sun was just ending its setting when Kaivo and his tour guide, Jani, as she had introduced herself, reached her home. It was amazing, really. Instead of trees as nests, they had constructed these strange things Jani called "huts", made of reed grass and strange, braided stuff she described as rope. There was also no grass in the clearing the many huts were built in, just soft, moist soil, softer than the ground where they had first met, with many paw prints littered over the ground. Since there were lots of lights coming from the huts, Kaivo assumed there were a lot more here than just he and Jani. It was also cold, because all the body heat of the Pokemon was trapped in the huts, not like the warmth of the clearing where his former pack had lived. The sky was still bright with the lights from the sun, shining oranges and pinks upon the clouds, painting a stunning picture, stars just beginning to poke through. A few Jolteon came from the right of the clearing and headed into one of the huts. Jani said that this was the Outsiders lands in Transform Forest.

"Transform Forest? This forest has a name?"

"Yep. You never knew? You poor child…" she shook her head, despite the fact that she was only about a year older than him. "Well, aside from a few of our prey, lower leveled Pokemon of course, us Eevee evolutions, and Eevee, are the only Pokemon in this forest."

Kaivo nodded as they stood at the edge of the clearing, waiting for Jani to lead him into one of the huts. She just stood though, looking around the huts as if she was waiting for something.

A Leafeon, a large, male one, came out of one of the biggest huts, and walked out to them after he noticed them standing there, smiling broadly. "Ah, hello there Jani. Who do we have here?" He grinned, turning his head to Kaivo who really didn't have any specific look on. He tried to smile, but it was weak. He opened his mouth to speak, but Jani beat him to it, not surprisingly.

"Oh! Right! This here is Kaivo! He was almost dead when I found him, saying he was exiled. By his own brother! Isn't that just awful, Guida?" The Leafeon said, almost cheerfully. You could tell she liked to talk. Kaivo's face darkened as she finished.

The Guida's face also darkened. "Kaivo?" he said to himself slowly as he turned to said Leafeon.

"_Guida?"_

Seeing the scared look in his eyes, Guida smiled again reassuringly. "Well then Kaivo, welcome! Feel free to explore." Jani turned to Kaivo as Guida turned back to the hut he had come out of, muttering to himself.

'Well," she grinned. She leaned in close to his ear, whispering. "That was Guida; he's the strongest Leafeon this pack has!" she giggled. "Have a good night, you can come stay in my hut when you're done exploring, and I'm right over here." She pointed to a small hut just big enough for three a little ways away with her paw. After she had wandered off and her leaf resembling tail had disappeared into the light filled hut, Kaivo turned around 360, taking in his surroundings. He began walking around the camp as the sun set further, the colors in the sky slowly dying.

Soon he came to a large rock wall, housing a few caves. He could see roots growing through the rocks and dirt of the wall, suggesting maybe an earthquake long ago had shifted the land. One of the caves was lit, and glowing, which intrigued him. It wasn't like the fiery, incandescence of the dancing light coming from the huts, but more of a luminescent radiance. As he passed the dark cave, a couple of Glaceon walked out, cold mist emitting from their mouths like hot breath comes from your mouth in winter. They, also with dark, black rings around their eyes, glared at him silently as they passed, heading out into the campgrounds. Slightly anxious, he continued on to the glowing cave, only to hear what sounded like sobs coming from inside.

Coming close to the mouth, the glow started to dance, almost as if it was moving closer. As he began to poke his head into the cavern, a masculine, muscled looking Umbreon walked out, growling lowly. Only this one, he had white rings on the fur around his eyes, so that they would show up on his sinister ebony fur. The moonlight Pokemon watched Kaivo with his crimson red eyes, frowning as he passed. So that's what the light had been; his golden rings had been lighting the cave. Only, what had that sobbing been? The Umbreon obviously didn't seem sad, the sobbing sounded slightly feminine, and it was still escaping from the cave into his ears…

He turned into the cave after he had watched the Umbreon head off out into the forest, taking the same path that the Glaceon had taken. It now had gotten very dark since he left.

Suddenly he began to sweat coldly again, the darkness reminding him of his parents cave when he had found them dead. The weeping became more eerie, bouncing off of the rock-strewn walls. It sounded something like "Tiron…".

"Hello?" He called out unsurely. The crying stopped and as he ventured further into the cave he bumped into something, sending him back onto his back end with an "oomph". There was an "ow" to accompany it.

"Hello?" He said again, only this time more surely.

"Wh-who are you?" a voice asked while sniffling.

"Are you alright?"

"I said who are you?!" It growled, trying to intimidate him.

"Oh, um…I'm Kaivo."

"Oh."

There was an uncomfortable silence as the two shifted nervously. "Who're you?"

"Suvi." It replied. Kaivo could gather that from its name and voice it was female.

"Well, um…Suvi, are you alright?"

"I guess…" she sniffled. "I've never heard of you before…are you…new?"

"Yeah. I just got here today."

"Oh. Um, let's get out of here, my brother'll be mad if he comes back and sees you in here." The sound of paws walking across the floor and past him echoed around Kaivo. He stood up also and followed her outside.

Into the light of the moon, Kaivo emerged from the black of the cave to set his eyes on a fragile looking Espeon, with tear streaks down her purple fur. He looked at her wide eyed. "Uh…" He struggled to remember her name. "…Suvi, are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine…" she sniffled, wiping away the tear streaks with her arm.

His look softened as he could picture himself as she, crying over his parent's bodies. It wasn't evident what she was crying over, but he knew what it was like to be sad…He thought back hard and as he looked into her eyes tried to think of what he would want when he was sad.

Sighing, another tear dropped down her face. "It's not like you'd understand anyways…"

"Hm, well I guess I wouldn't. They're your matters anyways."

There was another awkward silence between the pair. "Hey, how come you don't have rings?" She asked, obviously meaning the black rings around her eyes.

"I'm not an Umbreon."

She smiled weakly and Kaivo smiled at the success of his own joke.

"You know what I mean."

"Actually, I don't. I don't know where to get any; Jani didn't mention them to me."

"Jani? Oh, so you met Jani."

"Yeah. She kind of talks a lot."

"True," Suvi said sort of dreamily, thinking of the chatty Leafeon.

"So, you were saying something about rings?

Suvi let herself smile a little. "I've got some paint back at my hut, you know, I've got to replace it after it fades in the rain or something. You can come back to my place and I'll give you some."

"Well, alright."

With Suvi leading the way, the pair walked through the thick darkness settling over the huts until the Espeon turned into a small lit home. It was warm and cozy, with the warmth from the small fire in the dirt floored fire pit staying in the cave but the smoke drifting out of the top of the cot. Once inside, she picked up a rock bowl and turned around to Kaivo, who was looking around with interest at the inside of the hut. Once she dipped her paw into the murky paint, she carefully traced the outlines of his eyes with the coal black cover. "There…" She drawled out as she finished his second eye. "You look much better like that."

"Thanks." Going cross eyed he tried to get a look at the fresh paint staining his cream colored fur.

They shared a laugh as the small framed Espeon put the paint back into the corner of the room. They chatted for awhile after that, as Suvi seemed a little brighter after forgetting what she was sad about, which Kaivo didn't have the heart to ask her about now that she was happy. They talked till the moon had been up in the sky for quite a long time. Jani was asleep by the time Kaivo got to her hut.


	4. Alpha Affairs

**Seasons Of Change – Chapter Four**

As autumn approached, the Leafeon weren't in their usually high spirits. They saw fall as a sad time, where their beloved leaves on their trees lost their vivid green coloring, changed to browns and other ugly colors, fell to the ground and no longer sheltered them from the cold nights or the harsh winds. It was a time for them that meant moving into the spare caves that usually housed the pregnant and the new mothers. It was during autumn that they grew depressed; it was a symbol of the fast approaching winter, and they knew. When the Glaceon would be most happy, the Leafeon would be miserable, hibernating away the winter.

Aki watched over _his _pack, no longer he would say his parents' pack, with half happiness, half boredom. The dimwits, they'd do anything he'd tell them to. They were so dependent on others for decisions and opinions –even small ones- that they believed anything Aki said and did whatever he told them to without hesitating. If he told them that they'd live longer if they jumped off a cliff, one by one they'd all do it. A lack of common sense is what they had.

They didn't put up much of a fight with any of his decisions, even the bad ones. Being Alpha made him automatically trustworthy to the pack. He was currently up on high rock, where the sun warmed his fur. He couldn't figure out what all his fathers training was for if the Leafeon of the pack just hunted for him and didn't care about him making the _right _decision; as long as it was a decision, they were fine with it.

"_Well,"_ Quietly he sighed. _"That kind of takes the fun out of being a Tormenter_ _now doesn't it? I wonder how Brunn is doing with the Glaceon pack. Surely he must be having __some__ fun being Alpha of the Glaceon. At least his minors will oppose him…give him something to do. These idiots don't even understand what a Tormenter is…But I guess that's a good thing. We are supposed to be secret…" _He rolled his eyes at the Leafeon mingling down in the pack and decided to go have a little fun with them.

"Hello ladies." Aki greeted suavely as he approached three female Leafeon sitting in a small circle, chatting and laughing.

"Hi, Aki…" One of them rolled her eyes as the group replied in unison. The new Alpha circled around them and placed himself next to the one that wasn't ogling him, who happened to be the one who rolled her eyes. She was a particularly young female, maybe around his younger brother's age. She was beautiful too; she outshone any other eligible mate in the whole pack.

Disgustingly playful, he rubbed up against the female and purred. "C'mon now, Zaira, be nice to your Alpha."

She pulled back and shifted away. "Whatever."

"Aw, what are you still upset I exiled your little friend?" He laughed, shoving her in the arm with his brown paw.

Zaira turned around to him with tears forming in her eyes. "You mean your own _brother_?!"

"Face it, he was a killer!"

"He was my…my…" she sobbed out. "He was my arranged mate, and you know that! How could you even consider your own brother a killer?"

Aki's face turned hard. "It's the hard facts, kid. Maybe you should move on from him; you know I'm the better, older, stronger brother…"

Just then, he was cut off by the loud shouting of his own name. Without time to turn around to see who it was, he was glomped from behind by a female around his own age. "Better, older and stronger is right!" She replied nuzzling his cheek.

The Alpha scowled and spat the name of the female now wiggling her way in between him and Zaira. "Sokea…"

"Yup. Now that you're Alpha and everything," she suppressed a squeal of delight. "Can't you move our mating time to this coming one? I mean, I'm so excited and everything, and now that you can change the rules, it's ok, and I want to be a mother so badly…" she trailed off as she began to mutter them more to herself than to her future mate, obviously not seeing the great displeasure in his eyes upon her arrival. Well, it could have just been that his eyes were _always _like that when she was around, so she probably thought it was normal. The other two unnamed females had the brains to stop fantasizing over him now that his potential Alpha female was here. They shrunk back into the crowd of Leafeon hanging about the clearing.

Already agitated, Zaira's smile only made it worse, now that he couldn't flirt with her because Sokea was there. Zaira batted her eyelashes teasingly. "Well, it was nice chatting to you, Aki, but I think I better go." Struggling to suppress her giggles, she began walking into the crowd, following the other two females. "After all, I'm sure you want to spend time with Sokea." She called back with a grin.

"Oh, yeah! We should go down to the river! Or, we could go out hunting, or…" Sokea's extensive smile faded as she saw the frown upon Aki's face.

"Actually," he gazed in the direction Zaira had gone, then turned back to her. "I think I'm going to go…over there." Without the tiniest bit of remorse, he trotted after her, leaving Sokea with a devastated look on her face. He had become like this ever since he became Alpha…not that he had ever been different; she just failed to notice before that.

"That was cruel, you know." Aki circled around Zaira after he had finally found her in one of the empty caves.

Without looking towards him, she replied. "And exiling your brother _and _my future mate wasn't?"

"Ugh," irritated he sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you; that's different, because he deserved it, and I definitely didn't deserve _that._"

"That's mean. She really likes you, you know. You're all she talks about, and actually…it's kind of annoying. Anyways, the thing is she liked you before you were Alpha. Take her as your mate, not me."

"Well, why should I?"

"Because _I don't like you_! And I never will! Now get out!" She argued back, hissing and batting his face with her paw roughly as a warning.

Angrily he turned and left the cave, deciding he would have to come up with an idea to get Zaira to be his queen, whether she liked it or not.

---

With the falling of the leaves, Kaivo grinned at the varying colors dotting the ground of the sunny forest surrounding the campsite. He had never known why, but autumn always seemed to delight him. Everything was so _green all _the time; he loved seeing so many unique colors littering the forest floor. His pack had always thought him strange for this, but now that he was an Outsider, he could shout his love for the fall at the top of his lungs and all he'd get were a few strange stares for screaming so loud. No one there cared if he was different or not.

It was getting dark already; the sun was slowly sinking on the horizon and the moon up to conquer the sky once again, shining brightly in the black sky. Kaivo and Suvi were lounging around by the small river near the edges of the packs territories, chatting like they had been for the last few hours. Over the week and a half that Kaivo had been there, he had become especially close with Suvi; the two would be out lying by the river or hanging around the campgrounds together almost all the time.

The two were chatting happily when a rustling to the north interrupted them and a muscular Umbreon appeared out of a bush. He grunted and Suvi gave Kaivo an apologetic look before heading off to the Umbreon and disappearing through the brush. He sighed and rolled over onto his back, now that he had nothing to do.

He lay there for a while, staring up through the bare branches at the moon. It was so peaceful, he realized, here with the Outsiders. He could be out as late as he wanted; no rules, no curfew no nothing. Enjoying his freedom, he hardly noticed the crunching in the shrubbery and the Leafeon that walked up to him.

When he did notice, he jumped in surprise. It was Guida. "Oh, hello, I didn't hear you coming…" Kaivo apologized, breathing heavily.

Guida smiled half-heartedly and sat down beside the youthful Leafeon. "I know our meeting was a little awkward, and I'm sorry I haven't gotten to you sooner, but I felt we needed to talk."

Kaivo only nodded, so Guida nodded too, caught his breath and muttered what sounded like 'okay'.

"I'll get right to it; you were there when I was exiled, and you know what for. But I came here tonight, in hopes that you would listen to my side of the story.

"You already know that my wife Signora, my young son Figlio and I were banished because we were accused of having killed your grandfather Nonno, a truly great leader."

He struggled against his dropped jaw. "Your wife and young _son_? I only heard that three Leafeon killed him, I had no idea…"

"Yes," the older Leafeon sighed and nodded, thinking back. "That's what your father told everyone. When I tried to defend myself, I couldn't speak…"

"I was the same way."

"They usually are." Guida noted sadly. "Everyone in our pack says they were unable to speak or defend themselves, but no one knows why.

"I'm not sure why, because your father was a great Leafeon, but once he wrongly accused me, my views of him changed. I saw him as a liar and a poor ruler. I'm sorry, but I just have to know, haven't your views of him changed?"

Kaivo tapped his paw nervously. "Actually…my father wasn't the one who exiled me. It was my brother, Aki. He actually accused me of killing him."

Guida seemed to change. "Oh, I'm sorry, how hard that must be for you. But you're saying your father's dead, but you didn't kill him?"

"Exactly." The young Leafeon nodded.

Sadly, Guida looked up to the crescent moon hanging in the sky, and let out a sigh through his nostrils. "I'd like to chat with you further but I feel we should get back to the campsite. It's getting late."

The two walked back to their homes, taking the path that Suvi and her Umbreon brother Veli had taken a while earlier.

---

Kiduttaa lay comfortably in his cave under the rock in the very center of Transform Forest, smirking to himself as he thought about his plans. From the way things were going, all of the Alpha's of the evolution packs were dead and his pupils ruling comfortably, as he was. Of course, he had been born the prince of the Eevees, so all he had to do was kill his father and mother, and he was automatically appointed Alpha. His pack accepted him slowly as he pretended to save young Eevees he paid to act like they were drowning or stuck in a tree. Once he had gained their trust, he began to rule the way he wanted to, having the pack hunt for him as he lazed around in his cave. After many Eevee, young and old, had died at his paws, he moved his residence to the boulder in the center of Transform Forest and said that any who opposed him would die, because soon the whole forest would be his. Then they could do nothing to stop him.

He watched as the new Alpha of the Vaporeon pack, Hideri, stalked out of his cave from reporting to Kiduttaa about the status of the water Eevee evolutions. Yes, everything was going to plan…After his pupils, or Tormenters as they called themselves, had put their packs in place and in two weeks time brought them all to his boulder and the center of the forest, he could kill the Tormenters and take the forest as his own. Soon, the world would know of the mere Eevee that ruled all of its evolutions.


	5. Forests and Secrets

Umm... well hey there. I'm hoping that none of you who read this are too upset with me, for taking, um, how long has it been? A little over two years, to realize that this is something worth finishing. Wow, I feel really bad, but at least I'm not finishing it at all. And I do intend to finish it. Chapters might be slow coming but I'm getting excited so I'll try to work on it as often as possible. Well, enjoy!

**Seasons Of Change – Chapter Five**

Under the moon, a large male slunk out of his cave, looking each way warily for other pack members. With a smirk he trotted low to the ground out of the Alphas cave and down the cliff, taking each step carefully so he didn't knock any rocks around and wake others. Successfully he reached his destination cave without any commotion. Scowling he stepped carefully into the darkness of the cave, little rays of moonlight shining though on him from the windows of the cave. He stalked up to the sleeping form of a Leafeon lying on its side and watched it for a moment before quickly smashing his claws onto its jaw, locking them closed. Aki brought his jaws up to its neck swiftly and brutally and closed his teeth around its throat, ending its life as fast as possible. The female's chest suddenly stopped rising and falling. He checked once more that she was dead and left the cave again before anyone could realize that he had struck again.

---

The sun slowly rose over the Leafeon pack grounds, creating a beautiful glow in the forest, and Zaira was up early as usual. She climbed down her family tree and met up with her two friends, which she did every morning. Warai and Damu were chatting and laughing dumbly; Zaira had always been the smartest of the group. After all, she was the only one who despised Aki out of the three.

They greeted her as she sat down beside them. The peace didn't last long though; because the first chance he got, Aki was barreling towards them.

"Aki, what the hell do you want _now_?" Zaira growled.

Aki was panting, but not smiling. "No, it's…Sokea…when I went to see her this morning…she was…dead." He said between breaths as the others gasped. It was hard for him not to smile.

They shook they're heads as Damu began to cry, being the sensitive Leafeon she was. Zaira felt something in the pit of her stomach as Warai led Damu back to her tree with an arm slung over her wracking body. Something was not right…

Aki, seizing his chance, bounded up to Alpha rock and cleared his throat once before calling the attention of the clan. Faking sadness, he informed them of Sokea's death. After he had calmed them down again, he spoke again: "Since you all know Sokea was my future queen and we were to have pups this next birthing season, I've decided to pick another mate because of the short time till then. Hopefully I will be able to produce an offspring to follow in my paw prints, just as I have followed in my fathers."

Sitting in the crowd with an awful look of horror, she knew what was next, and it all seemed too fishy.

"My new mate shall be," he said slowly, scanning the packs eager females with disinterest, because he had already made the choice when he'd made the kill. His brown eyes, filled with a darkness that only Zaira could see, came to rest on her.

"Zaira."

---

Tiron closed his blood red eyes and inhaled the scent of Rattata, thick in the grove of trees he had just stumbled upon. The thought of a fresh meal excited him thoroughly, for he had not eaten for a couple of days. It was difficult to disguise himself in the sparse foliage of the fall season, especially in the daytime, but he managed to blend in underneath a thick nettle bush to wait for something to happen by his hiding place.

And it was so close, he could almost taste it now. The little purple rodent was busy sniffing around in the fallen leaves and pine, looking for some small morsel to eat. Tiron could only guess that the Rattata had a similar situation to himself, not having eaten in a couple days, but he would soon put it out of its miserable existence.

In a flash of black fur and disturbed leaves, Tiron pounced and wrapped his jaws around his prey's body. It struggled, but Tiron laughed and knew that his kill was successful as it's body went limp.

He ate a bit, but before he gorged the whole thing down, he thought of his sister Suvi waiting patiently back at the camp, hungry. Normally he would have just told her to practice more and catch her own food, but considering the _situation _they were in, he felt it was somewhat of his duty to sustain her. So he lifted up the bloodied body in his jaws, and the Umbreon skulked back to the camp on a half empty stomach.

---

A lonely petite Espeon lay in the depths of the deep cave, curled up with her head on her paws and her heart heavy. It took all she had not to cry again like she had that night, nearly two weeks ago now. Kaivo's lovely and sweet presence had distracted her until now, but whenever she was left alone for too long her mind started to wander to places she didn't want it to, almost like a naughty pup.

_Kaivo._ Before he had come here, before they had become friends, her existence in the pack was like torture. It wasn't like a pack at all, like they called it, but a hateful existence; a gang of killers and thieves. Sometimes she wondered why any of them were even staying here in the first place. Some of them were even _nice_, like Kaivo, Jani, and Guida... All Leafeon, now that she came to think of it. All seemingly innocent. They didn't belong here like she and the rest of them did, and yet they managed to make a place for themselves and oddly enough stayed...

She wasn't one to complain though. She was grateful that they stayed here with her, almost everyday she was. Although a part of her wished that they would leave someday and make a better life for themselves. They didn't deserve the same as she did. They deserved better.

Thinking about Kaivo at least kept her busy for awhile. Suvi knew he would have been there with her, or they would have been together somehow if Guida hadn't taken him out to hunt, and that comforted her in a way. She sent a silent prayer to wish him luck in finding a good meal, for they were beginning to get more scarce everyday. The last time she went out to hunt, which was early yesterday, she barely made it away with a couple of berries just starting to rot. She'd gotten by on scraps from the pile until now, but her stomach was beginning to growl at her. _Maybe a drink of water would help_, she thought, and lifted herself up and out of the dark cave.

The walk to the gentle stream made her relax, and she was soothed even further by it's sounds in the quiet and dark of the night. A huge yellow moon glared at her from the sky and from it's reflection from which she drank. In all the quiet, she could hear a rustling in the bushes what sounded like a little ways away. Her ears perked up, her violet eyes observing the dark blues and browns of the autumn forest. Suvi lowered herself to the pine covered forest floor and raiser her hackles, ready to pounce. Slinking through the brush separating her from the noise, she peered out into the night.

The sight she saw startled her greatly. There, on the other side of the forest, was a Vaporeon, but he wasn't an Outsider: he had no rings around his eyes and the scent that was being blown across the river was unrecognizable to her. He wasn't drinking or bathing, but just sitting at the edge of the water looking in, as if he was waiting for something. But why was he so close to their territory? Everyone knew that the sparse ended edge of the forest was where the outcasts were sent to live, and it's not like the death and uncleanliness was hard to detect.

It was so quiet she could hardly take a breath or else he would have heard her, though she was downwind so it was unlikely he would smell her. Another rustle came from behind the foreign Pokemon, and another shape emerged from the brush. It was another Vaporeon, but this time she recognized it. The newer arrival had the dark black rings that identified her as an outsider, and her smell was familiar too. Her name was Callirhoe, and Suvi had talked to her once or twice; she seemed nice enough.

Preparing to pounce and protect her fellow Ousider, Suvi unsheathed her claws and moved closer. But what she saw surprised her even more. The foriegner didn't attack, and neither did Callirhoe. Instead they smiled at the sight of each other and Callirhoe snuggled up against the strange male, muttering his name quietly.

Suvi was suspicious about this scene, and unsure about what to do. Should she stay and eavesdrop, or was it better to forget what she saw here?

Ultimately, she already had enough to deal with and didn't want to get involved with more problems, so she backed up quietly through the bush and hurried back to her cave. _Tiron must be heading back soon_, she thought nervously, afraid of what he would say if he arrived back before her. She shuddered more out of nervousness than anything.

The campgrounds were dead quiet as she arrived back, it was almost eerie. She had hoped she would be unnoticed returning, and let out a sigh of relief as she approached her cave.

"Suvi."

She stopped short and froze at the sound of her brothers voice, turning around slowly to see him walking towards her with a half eaten Rattata hanging in his jaws.

"B-brother, I just went to get a drink of water, I was only gone a few moments..."

He only glared at her. The blood dripping from his face only made him that much more intimidating.

"Get in," he said simply, but there was anger in his voice. She was aware that upsetting him further would be very much against her own interest, so she obeyed and slunk into their home.

In the darkness Tiron's golden rings lit up and faded, sending shivers through Suvi's body as he slowed approached, his rings getting closer every time until he pushed her down and dug his claws into her soft underbelly. She gasped and looked into his blood red eyes, and tears began to form in her own. He snapped his teeth in her face. "I told you not to leave tonight. You ungrateful bitch," he paused his angry growling to strike her across the face. She winced in pain and felt blood drip down her cheek, but did not dare make a noise. "I brought you food," he started again, seething, "Food that I could have eaten myself, and left you to starve. But no, I felt _bad_ for you. Well, not anymore," he laughed angrily. The Umbreon got off of his sister, grabbed the carcass, and walked to the other end of the cave to begin eating. "You can find your own food you little bitch, and you had better obey me next time, or else."

She listened silently to the sound of his teeth ripping through the meat of the Rattata. She could have thought about how hungry she was, or about how Tiron had changed. She could have thought about the good old days, when they used to play together as pups. When things weren't so complicated. But she knew her brother loved her... she knew for a fact. He had proved it to her, and now she could never forget. She would never be ungrateful to him again, she vowed. She could have thought about the searing pain that ripped through the cut on her face, but right then all she could think about was how lucky she was to have a brother like Tiron.

After all, the Pokemon he was devouring so furiously wasn't her.

---

His heavy breathing was getting on his nerves. He shouldn't be this tired, Kaivo told himself, and yet here he was, panting like there wasn't enough air in the world. Guida was hunched silently in some bushes a few feet ahead, and even though he was much older, he'd been running as much as the young Leafeon, probably even more, and was still ready to run another who knows how many miles. Kaivo frowned and realized that lazing around with Suvi had been making him soft. Either that, or he'd already been soft... it's not like he ever had any real training anyways, he remembered. That made him think about his dad... and Aki...

"Now!" came the call from Guida, and he disappeared in a flash. Kaivo, still dazed from his uncomfortable memories, ran forward and jumped through the bushes after his teacher. Guida was holding steadily onto a good sized Raticate, but it was struggling. Kaivo sprinted forward and locked his jaws around its neck while holding onto its soft body with his claws. Soon the struggle was over and they had made their kill. Guida smiled proudly at his pupil and ruffled the fur on his head.

"Good job kiddo," he said, his voice filled with pride.

Kaivo quickly forgot his previous thoughts. The proud look in Guida's eyes filled him with a feeling he'd never had before. He was actually praising something Kaivo had done; his father had never done that before. And for a moment, he thought maybe this really was where he belonged and someone above was looking out for him. For he had been happier here than he had been at home for his whole life, except maybe when he had been really small, and his grandfather was still alive.

One thing he did miss about home though was Zaira. Suvi reminded him so much of his mate-to-be, the way she was kind and gentle, even the way she laughed. It hurt his heart to think about her, but the pain was slowly going away. He hadn't seen her when he was leaving, but then again he hadn't paid much attention, his exile was so overwhelming. Maybe she missed him as much as he missed her, though he doubted it. She was probably glad he was gone like the rest of them, and had moved on to someone much tougher and stronger than little, pathetic Kaivo.

No, he wasn't that Kaivo anymore. He had changed, even his look had changed. He was no longer who he had been, but a newer, improved version of himself. The kill he had just helped make proved it. Guida began to lift the body onto his back to carry back to their home, but Kaivo dove underneath it, smiled at his older friend, and lifted it up onto his own back. He would prove he had gotten stronger, to his teacher and to himself. The two Leafeon slowly made their way back to the Outsiders camp, and just over the horizon, the sun started to rise.

---

Zaira sat alone in the Alpha's cave, listening to the quiet sounds of the Pokemon within the woods. Some would say the forest was going to sleep at this time, but really it was just coming alive with nocturnal beings. Although Zaira was not one of them, she couldn't bring herself to sleep. Thoughts were racing through her head like wild Rapidash, so much so that she could not even concentrate on one. It had been like this all day it seemed, ever since Aki had made his announcement.

_Okay,_ she told herself. _Get your thoughts together, Zaira. You have to think straight, you're the only one who seems to be able to..._

First she thought of the events that had happened earlier that day. Hearing about Sokea's death... that was the first thing that had happened that day. She grieved for her fellow pack member, although she was older and they hadn't really spent much time together. She thought it was so sad how she had died... she had...

Zaira sat up so fast she got dizzy. Aki had never revealed _how_ she'd died. This was strange because just a couple days ago Sokea had been obliviously all over Aki, her usual hyper active self. How could her health have deteriorated so fast without anyone knowing?

The strange feeling in the pit of her stomach, the feeling that something wasn't quite right with all this, grew with this realization. She got up quietly and exited the cave, tiptoeing so as to not wake anyone up. Because any Leafeon up at this time of night was suspicious. Very suspicious.

Of course there was no sign of Aki anywhere, he'd gone off into the forest just before sunset to attend to some important business, as he put it. That hadn't bothered her earlier, but now it was making her feel even more uneasy. What could possibly be important in the forest at night?

Zaira set her course for the woods as well. Slowly and ever so quietly she snuck underneath the sleeping forms of her pack, up in the canopies of the trees. A bad feeling filled her again, a feeling of betraying her own people by sneaking about under their noses.

Soon she reached the river where their territory ended and who knows what was beyond that. Like most others, she'd never left the grounds, and going into the deep forest was a frightening thing to her. But she knew that they buried the dead just past the river in a sort of graveyard area. She stuck her nose to the ground in the tall grasses just at the bank of the river, and breathed in the scent of mud, grass, and the fresh scent of Aki, so she knew she was going in the right direction. Without giving it another thought in fear that she would turn back, Zaira splashed through the small river as quietly as possible into the dark unknown.


End file.
